Can you hear me now: Cell companies face fine for bad service

The Communications Ministry announced that it intends to sanction a number of Israeli cell service providers for failing to provide adequate coverage in multiple cities, the ministry announced Sunday.

The sanctions are set to be imposed on the companies Pelephone, Partner Communications Company, Cellcom, Hot Mobile, and Wecom to the tune of NIS 8.7 million. They are the result of a failure by the companies to provide 4G service in at least 95% of the area of a town or roadway as mandated by their license, said the ministry. The cities in which there was not adequate coverage include Yotvata, Tzofar, Majdal Shams, Hatzerim, Kaukab Abu al-Hija, and more.

The ministry was able to determine that these companies were failing to meet their license obligations through information provided by the companies themselves, said the ministry.

“Failing to provide the mandatory coverage is a serious violation, and hurts public services directly,” said Communications Ministry Director General Inbar Mashash.

First time such sanctions are imposed

If the sanctions go through, this will be the first time that such sanctions are imposed. “The Communications Ministry has never imposed sanctions on cell providers for failing to meet the conditions of their license,” said Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi.

“I took over the communications ministry with Israel ranked 73rd in the world alongside third-world countries. No more,” continued Kari. “I am determined to significantly improve the cellular infrastructure in the coming years.”